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Comparing Online Information Effects

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Online Information and Uncertainty Avoidance

avishy{at}buffalo.edu

Despite the global reach of the Internet, extant cross-cultural research is limited to examining the uses and users of the medium rather than the effects of information presented within it.T he current exploratory study investigates the effects of differing information on participants within a standardizedWeb site across three cultures: Germany, Japan, and the United States.T he findings reveal a significant interaction between culture, information, and uncertainty avoidance.Online interactants in high uncertainty-avoidance cultures such as Japan seem to exhibit drastic behavioral changes when faced with limited information within an ambiguous decision context as compared to similar participants in Germany and the United States.T he overall findings are consistent with Hofstede’s (1984, 1991, 2001) perspective on culture and uncertainty avoidance.

Key Words: online auctions • eBay • information effects • uncertainty • avoidance • cross-cultural differences • Hofstede

Communication Research, Vol. 30, No. 6, 579-598 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0093650203257838


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